Owners have filed 1,914 complaints on the Buick LaCrosse, covering 2005–2019. The system named most often is Electrical System (457 reports). Worst years by volume: 2006, 2005, 2007; cleanest: 2019, 2018, 2017. 82 reports describe a crash, 55 a fire, 1 a death. On average the car was 6.5 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Buick LaCrosse
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 1,914 LaCrosse complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 457 Read
The vehicle was being driven at night when suddenly the headlights went out causing the driver to leave the road as he was going thru a turn at the time. Luckily no one was injured and the car only suffered minor damage. It had to be pulled out of the ditch. After the car was driven home less than a mile away, I…
4/6/2013 my 2013 buick lacrosse 4 cylinder model was parked in driveway. At 9pm my husband went outside to get something from the car and saw the car on fire with flames coming from the back end rear bumper. By the time he could get a hose to put out the fire, the back bumper, the rear side on the passenger side and…
The contact owns a 2013 buick lacrosse. While idling, the vehicle stalled and the battery warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart on the first attempt, but the failure also recurred at various times while driving. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 13V173000 (electrical…
Exterior Lighting 361 Read
On the way home from a celebration in our town, I hit a deer. I immediately heard a loud couple of bangs, not just from the impact and smoke was coming out from the steering column and glovebox. Onstar called immediately and said that my airbags had deployed and they asked if I needed help. The concern is that the…
The contact owns a 2014 buick lacrosse. The contact stated a blue plastic trim detached within the headlight causing the illumination of the headlight to be reduced. The vehicle was taken to hyatt buick gmc located at 922 frontage rd e, myrtle beach, sc 29577, phone number: 843-480-0029 to be diagnosed. The contact…
The contact owns a 2008 buick lacrosse. While driving approximately 5 mph, the low beam headlights suddenly shut off causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle and crash into a ditch. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not…
Steering 214 Read
I lost all steering control and lost control
I was driving my car down a interstate highway when all of a sudden the stability track can on my dash and the car freaked out and breaked really hard ! I stated to spin out and then a loud crack the lower control arm broke on the rear right side . We almost really lost our lives! This is the 12 time this has happen…
During a regular drive the check stabiltrack system message popped up on the dash in the middle circle and then the little car with the squiggly lines behind it popped up and the check engine light came on and started blinking. Immediately I noticed lack of steering control, the car's speed was accelerating and…
Air Bags 188 Read
The contact owns a 2016 buick lacrosse. The contact was involved in a crash. The air bags did not deploy and the air bag warning indicator illuminated. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number 16V651000 (air bags). The…
The contact owned a 2016 buick lacrosse. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 65 mph, the vehicle crashed into a deer. The contact mentioned that the side air bags deployed. A police report was not filed. In addition, the contact was concerned with the intense excessive explosion from the air bags…
On June 22,2026, I was involved in a frontal impact collision while traveling at approximately 35 mph. The vehicle suffered a catastrophic failure of the entire occupant restraint system. Despite a severe, high-speed frontal impact, the frontal airbags failed to physically deploy, and the seatbelt pretensioners failed…
Suspension 116 Read
On saturday, april 7,2013 my wife pulled into a parking space at a condo in marco is.fl. She was driving our 2013 buick lacrosse. Knowing that the lacrosse has a low front end,she slows down to a crawl to avoid dragging the front end on the parking lot blocks. She is familiar with this parking lot as my daughter lives…
The contact owned a 2012 buick lacrosse. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20V764000 (suspension) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The manufacturer was contacted where it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded…
Car been smelling like gas for awhile engine light pop on and off. My car will not start I have replace the fuel pump car still won’t get gas . Replaced battery numerous of times battery keep won’t stay charge . I have a recall on my car I believe the suspension is under recall as well. I also had to replace my…
Power Train 99 Read
Car rolled away,and the back of car(trunk,lights) were smashed
The contact owns a 2012 buick lacrosse. The contact stated that while parked, the vehicle rolled away and hit the wall of a house. The vehicle was diagnosed and repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 9,000. Updated 8/27/14*cn updated 08/29/2014
Sudden and unexpected acceleration during a low speed (<5 mph) tight left hand turn. First incident resulted in crash against house wall, damage to vehicle. Vehicle repaired below insurance deductible, no damage to structure. Second incident in a parking lot, on or about may 16, 2012, able to stop vehicle with no…
Engine 76 Read
The contact owns a 2012 buck lacrosse. While driving 70 mph, the vehicle stalled and the check engine indicator illuminated. Additionally, there was an abnormal burning plastic odor inside the vehicle from an unknown source. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The contact called two local dealers: jim…
The contact owned a 2010 buick lacrosse. The contact stated that moments after parking the vehicle in a garage, the front end caught on fire. The contact also stated that the fire burned down her home before the fire department could extinguish it. There were no reported injuries. The vehicle had not been inspected to…
The contact owns a 2007 buick lacrosse. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 mph, she hit a pot hole and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle coasted to the shoulder of the road. The vehicle was restarted and the contact was able to drive the vehicle as normal. The contact received a recall notice under NHTSA…
Service Brakes 57 Read
I purchased this car from another car dealer in early july 2014 with 19,000 miles. I noticed that the vehicle seemed to be sluggish on acceleration. I first thought it was the electronic parking brake not releasing. After doing some research I found another case where some else had their car in for the same issue.…
While attempting to stop at stop sign by applying brakes vehicle failed to stop then accelerated. While applying brakes as much as possible brakes still failed with vehicle plying through field and coming to rest only when plowing into an embankment
I had completely stopped my vehicle in a parking area at a condominium complex where I was delivering a meal to my nephew who resides there. Because I had just recently learned that someone from my community was dying from an encephalitis-infected mosquito and I am very prone to mosquito bites, I decided to re-start…
LaCrosse years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Electrical System,engine | — | — | |
| 2018 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 3 | 2 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 4 | — | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 7 | 1 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 4 | 3 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 8 | 4 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 13 | 1 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 6 | 9 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 3 | 4 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 10 | 4 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 7 | 14 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 11 | 7 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 6 | 6 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 616 |
| Average complaints per series | 3.1 |
| Worst single series | 17 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.5 years |
A model average of 3.1 hides a worst series at 17. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the LaCrosse?
By complaint volume, 2006, 2005, 2007 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which LaCrosse years are the cleanest?
2019, 2018, 2017 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Buick LaCrosse have?
1,914 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2005–2019. Of those, 82 describe a crash and 55 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.